Benchmade 940-1 Osborne Folding Knife, S90V, Carbon Fiber
[BM940-1]

If you’re looking at this knife, you are likely a collector. You likely know you are looking at a knife designed by the legendary Australian knife maker, Warren Osborne. He was working in the US at the time on a ranch as a horse trainer and wanted a working tool that was medium size but could be worked hard. He invented the Axis lock which is a feature of this knife – though he did not patent it, Benchmade did – and the knife was introduced in Atlanta in 2000 and over 20 years later, still has strong sales, which I suppose tells you something. So, let’s get at it. The blade is really nice. The 940-1 comes with S 90V steel which is a “super steel” approaching the apex of wear resistance and edge retention. But let me tell you it is hard to sharpen. Trust me. So keep it honed and stropped if you can so you don’t have to sharpen it often. I will mention Benchmade’s LifeSharp® program. You can send it to Benchmade and they will disassemble it, clean it, worn parts are replaced, lubricate it and put a factory edge back on it, but I think it has to be sent to the US. Getting this knife across the border now can be a problem. But beyond the steel, the blade shape is nice. The reverse tanto blade has a long flat surface to cut, a bit of belly, comes to a nice point, has some material removed on the spine and is really useful. It isn’t as slicey as you would think, but that is because it was designed as an outdoor use knife. So although the knife is sleek, don’t forget it is designed as a hard use working tool. The handle is really good. The scales are solid carbon fibre, not carbon fibre veneer like some knives have. It is really solid. No wobble, no flex, and a luxurious feel in my hand. It needs to be solid as the liner only runs let’s say ¾ of the length of the handle. So the thick carbon fibre scales are part of the knifes structure. It has a skeletonized frame meaning you can look through it. The barrel standoffs or spacers if you prefer are a bright anodized blue. You either like that or you don’t – I do. The action is interesting. Mine was sticky, but I removed the pivot, oiled the phosphor bronze washers, and tuned the pivot and it deploys nicely. Do I have some criticisms? Yes, I have >